Big Bear Trouble: BBW Werebear Shapeshifter Romance (Sweetwater Brides) (6 page)

K
aren ran to the hallway
, frantically searching the pockets of Evan’s leather jacket for his cellphone. She scrolled down in his contacts, finding Ethan’s number. After just two rings, a deep male voice answered.

“Brother, I’m glad you –”

“Evan’s hurt, please help,” Karen cut him off, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating.

She could hear Ethan shouting commands to someone in the distance.

“Stay calm, I’m on my way. What happened?”
Ethan’s tone had been jovial at first, but now turned to business.

“Oh god, there’s so much blood, I need to call an ambulance!” Karen stammered, terrified.

“Doctors can’t help him, not in the way we can. Try to calm down, I’m already in the car and on my way. I’ll stay on the phone with you.”

Karen took some deep breaths and made her way back to Evan’s side, stepping over pieces of wood and glass. His breathing was steady, but he was still unconscious.

“It’s gonna be okay, it’s gonna be okay,” Karen whispered, grabbing another towel from the kitchen and using it to put pressure on the bleeding wound on his leg.

Ethan kept talking to her on the phone, saying how Evan was strong and how help was getting closer.

It seemed like hours but had probably been minutes when Ethan rushed through the door. He knelt down next to Karen, assessing Evan’s wounds.

“It seems he’s lost a lot of blood. But don’t worry, he’s gonna be okay. Jen, my wife, has already called some of the guys, they should be here any minute,” he assured her, looking more concerned at Karen’s disheveled state than at Evan bleeding all over the floor.

Except… he wasn’t bleeding anymore. The wounds had already started to clot over, the blood flow stopping.

Karen’s mouth opened, questions flying through her mind. She was cut off by two men bursting in, stopping just short of where she and Ethan were crouched over Evan. They sniffed the air, snarling.

“Dirty Clearpond mutts,” the taller one growled. “We should go track them down,” he continued, already turning towards what was left of the door.

“I would love to rip into them, but our brother needs us right now,” Ethan said sternly, stopping the man in his tracks.

“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Karen finally all but shouted.

“Shifters heal faster than humans, especially when they are surrounded by their kind. His wounds are already closing, probably thanks to the fact that you have been by his side all this time,” Ethan explained, simultaneously gesturing to the two other men to come closer.

Karen’s mind was going a million miles a minute.

“I’m not a shifter, what help could I be?”

“You’re the one he loves, the one who’s meant for him. That’s some powerful stuff,” the shorter man affirmed, a slight smile on his face.

Karen faced him, raising a brow in a way that said, “And who the hell are you?”

The man cleared his throat and spoke up.

“I’m Jameson and this here,” he said, waving a hand towards the tall man Karen already recognized from the pictures around Evan’s apartment, “is Everett, one of Evan’s brothers.”

Just then, Evan groaned softly, his eyes fluttering open.

“We’re here, you’re going to be okay,” Karen whispered to him, clutching his hand in hers.

“This place is a mess and we don’t know if they intend to come back to finish the job. You should stay with us,” Ethan cautioned, looking around the battlefield of an apartment.

“Should he be moved?”

“Don’t worry, Evan’s taken beatings a lot worse than this,” Everett grinned.

“I’m feeling better already,” Evan said, propping himself up on his elbows and smiling at Karen.

Jameson and Everett half-carried Evan to Ethan’s car, laying him down on the backseat. They had their own ride and said they would see Karen, Evan and Ethan at Ethan’s place. Karen sat in the passenger seat, glancing back at Evan every few minutes to make sure he was alright.

He is going to be fine
, she chanted to herself.

Karen hadn’t really taken the time to explore her feelings towards Evan. Of course there was an undeniable attraction between them, but it was more than that. Karen hadn’t allowed herself to admit it, because relationships are difficult and take hard work and she just wanted a break from tough decisions and challenges.

Evan was a truly good man, caring and protective, honest and kind, and exciting and dangerous in a good way. She trusted him completely. He felt like home. Thinking of him bleeding and hurt was unbearable. It felt like her heart had been put in a vice.

Ethan’s house was a cozy two-story family home outside of town. Ethan propped his brother up, supporting him with his shoulder. Karen held the door open for them. Once inside, they were greeted by a beautiful blond lady who guided the brothers to what Karen guessed to be the guest bedroom. Ethan started taking off Evan’s bloody clothes while the woman nudged Karen back towards the living room.

“I know you’re worried, I promise you, I’ve been there,” she reassured her kindly. “He is safe now. He’s going to be just fine. Let’s get you cleaned up, okay?”

Karen looked down at her hands, caked with dried blood and nodded.

“I’m Jennifer, by the way, Ethan’s wife,” she said, leading the way to the bathroom.

“I’m Karen, Evan’s… friend,” Karen hesitated.

“I’m sure you’re more than that,” Jennifer retorted with a knowing smile.

Once Karen had been cleaned up, Jennifer sat her down on the living room couch. Everett and Jameson had already arrived, sitting in the kitchen and discussing something in hushed voices. Karen noticed toys scattered on the floor and realized there were probably kids sleeping upstairs.

Ethan emerged from the bedroom and sat down next to Jennifer, kissing her forehead and pulling her close.

“He’s resting,” he said quietly. “Are you ready to talk about what happened?” he asked, turning towards Karen.

“A man came to the door, said his name was Jamie. Told Evan they needed to talk, that someone called Rita had died. Evan told me it was his ex so I said he should let him in… He was clearly angry, blamed Evan for the woman’s death, I think. Then some huge dude bust through the door with two wolves and they attacked Evan,” Karen tried to summarize everything that had happened.

“Rita is dead?” Ethan raised a brow, glancing at Jameson.

“But I don’t understand,” Karen said, thinking aloud. “Why does Jamie blame Evan? He said himself that she died of an overdose.”

“Did Evan tell you why he and Rita broke up?”

“Wasn’t really a good time for a heart to heart,” Karen remarked, maybe a bit more snarky than she had intended.

Ethan chuckled. “Evan caught her sleeping around with one of his best friends,” disapproval clear in his tone.

“Evan cut ties with both of them. Somehow, the story got out. Half of the town was gossiping about it. Rita was mortified, shunned. She got into drugs. Last I heard, she skipped town. That was about two years ago,” Ethan explained, staring into the distance.

Is that the hurt in Evan’s past Joe mentioned?
Karen thought, mulling over the information.

So they both had bad relationships that had come back to haunt them.

That’s probably why Evan hasn’t been snatched up yet. What happened with Rita must’ve made him cautious to open up again.

But he had with Karen, while she kept herself back due to fear. In that moment, she felt terrible.

“I’m guessing you boys are staying around? I’ll make up the couch,” Jennifer said, addressing Everett and Jameson.

The men nodded. Karen got up, anxious to get back to Evan.

“Up and at ‘em early tomorrow?” Ethan proclaimed, throwing Everett and Jameson a knowing look.

The men grinned in response, Everett even rubbing his hands together. The room filled with predatory expectation. Karen felt like a lamb in a lion’s den.

Wouldn’t want to get on their bad side,
she thought.

E
van opened his eyes
, scanning the room around him in confusion. It took him a couple of seconds to realize he was at Ethan’s place.

Memories from the previous day flooded him. There was a dull ache in his head and the skin on his left arm and right leg felt hot. He looked down to see Karen’s arm draped across his midsection and couldn’t help but smile. Her eyes fluttered open.

“Good morning,” she said softly.

“And what a morning it is,” Evan rasped, pulling himself up to a sitting position.

“How are you feeling? I was so worried,” Karen yawned, her eyes glistening.

Evan took her face in his hands, planting a soft kiss on her lips.

“I’m fine, it’s going to take a lot more than that to take me off the map,” he smirked, pulling the blanket off his injured leg and revealing how the wound had already closed over.

The skin around the deepest gash was shiny and pink. The middle part still looked slightly red and tender, but not nearly as bad as it had the previous day. Karen stared at his shin, amazed.

“Wow, they weren’t kidding,” she whispered.

“Kidding about what?” Evan asked, wondering how much his brothers had told her.

“They said being around other bears will help you heal… and being around me helps, as well,” Karen added, looking down and fidgeting with the blanket.

“It does, because you are my mate. My one and only kindred soul,” Evan blurted, opting for bluntness.

“I don’t really know what that means…”

“It means that in all the world, there is one person who is destined for me. My other half. My bear knew that you were that person even before I laid eyes on you. There is no denying it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Evan explained, pulling Karen closer.

“This is a lot to take in… Can I just say that I am definitely falling for you, hard. Thinking of going back to New York and leaving you behind makes everything inside me ache. You feel like home. Is that enough?” Karen whispered, searching his eyes.

Evan could feel his chest swell under a wave of emotion. Instead of a response, he pulled Karen into his lap, crushing her mouth with his in a long, unrelenting kiss. Karen wrapped herself around him until they were melting into each other.

A pointed cough from the doorway broke the moment.

“Didn’t mean to interrupt,” Ethan grinned. “I need a word with my brother, if you don’t mind,” he continued, almost apologetically.

Karen rushed to her feet, a slight blush on her cheeks.

“Better go freshen up,” she said before disappearing from the room.

Ethan sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Your wounds were already healing even before we got there… So, I’m guessing Karen is the one?” he asked, surprising Evan with his bluntness.

“Yes, she is the one.”

“I’m happy for you, brother.”

Ethan squeezed his arm and smiled.

“Since you seem to be feeling better, we’re going to go have a little chat with your unexpected guests. We picked up their scent from your apartment, shouldn’t be hard to track them down.”

Ethan grinned, but it was more a baring of teeth than a genuine smile.

Evan started to get up and object, but Ethan pushed him back down on the bed.

“You rest, spend some time with your lady. We’ll fill you in later,” Ethan added, patting his brother on the back.

“
I
s there
something on your mind?” Evan asked, concerned.

Karen had grown silent, staring into the distance. They were lounging in Ethan’s backyard, breathing in the scent of freshly cut grass. Trees rustled in the distance, the only sound in the quiet. Jennifer had taken the twins into town for some grocery shopping and the guys had gone to shake up some information.

“Everything’s been so crazy, I hadn’t had a chance to… I think I need to go to the police, Evan. I stabbed someone.”

Evan suppressed a chuckle.

“Oh, sweet Karen. This is clan business. The sheriff’s department knows better than to get mixed up in it.”

“Do you… Do you know what happened to the wolf?” Karen asked after mulling over his answer.

Oh
.

Evan hadn’t even thought about how it could affect Karen. For him, it had always been easy. Someone comes for the people you love, you take them out. Simple as that. You try to hurt a bear’s family, you know what you’re getting yourself into. But this was new to Karen, she wasn’t a violent person.

“I’m so sorry Karen, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t make it. I just need you to know you did what you had to. You were defending me and I will forever be grateful for that,” he tried to comfort her, pulling her closer to him.

She rested her head on his shoulder, silent. A gentle spring breeze tousled her hair. Sunlight slid over the pale skin on her legs. After what felt like forever, she finally spoke.

“What scares me the most is how
little
guilt I feel. I took a life, something sacred. And I will always carry a shard of glass in my heart for that,” she spoke, turning her face up to Evan, her jade eyes smoldering. “But I would do it all over again if it meant keeping you safe.”

Evan took her face in his hands.

“With you by my side, I am invincible,” he said before covering her mouth with his.

Another two days passed under Ethan’s roof. His brothers and Jameson had run into some trouble locating the wolves that had redecorated his apartment. They had probably gone into hiding, not too keen on getting their asses kicked by angry bears.

Evan was slowly testing out the muscles in his arm and leg with some light stretching exercises. Karen busied herself around the house, determined to be as useful as possible. Everett and Jameson still hung around, just in case the wolves were stupid enough to try something again.

They all played cards together in the evenings after the babies had been put to bed. At first they played for real money – small sums of course – but that was before they discovered that Karen was somewhat of a poker shark.

Karen quickly bonded with Jennifer. Evan often found them laughing over breakfast in the kitchen, whispering something or other on the couch, or playing with the cubs in the backyard.

Seeing Karen integrate so seamlessly into his life made Evan both happy and proud. She adapted quickly.

It was Thursday morning when Evan got a call from Tom, asking if he wanted in on the fight on Friday. He said yes.

“Fighting? Already?” Karen protested after Evan told her the news.

“I’m fully healed,” Evan said, stretching out his arm towards Karen and showing off the unmarred skin.

“Good as new, no need to worry,” he continued with a smile, sweeping Karen off her feet and into his arms. She squealed at the suddenness of the motion, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Show off,” Karen muttered, a smile tugging at her lips. “I’m gonna go see if Jen needs my help. It’s almost nap time,” she continued, looking pointedly at Evan’s arms, still holding her off the ground.

He slowly lowered Karen down, enjoying how her body slid across his. She disappeared into the living room just as Evan’s phone went off. It was Ethan.

“I found one of the wolves. I’m already on my way back. I’ll fill you in when I get there. Karen should hear this as well,”
he finished before hanging up.

That can’t be good.